I have looked on etsy, and I wonder why most of the items are quite cheap? I look at some items, and I personally think that alot of these people deserve to charge more for the work they're producing. With materials and labor, I wonder how much of a profit do you guys make from your creations?

Wow, paying his rent from Etsy alone? I want to sell on etsy ( i have set up an account but not posted anything) but I know my things will cost more than what most of the clothing is selling on etsy. I'm not charging thousands or even several hundred dollars and I look at people's clothing and check their selling history and see what's being sold and what's not, it seems like their much lower priced items are the only ones selling. Here's my concern, I want to make high quality garments (I'm not passing judgement on the quality of other sellers because I don't know) and the materials I use are going to be more expensive to begin with. I like using silks, silk blends, wools, things of that nature and the fabric store is going to charge me more (I live in NYC so that should give you an idea) and based on a rough estimate of cost and labor, it doesn't seem I'll make a reasonable profit based on the work I put into it.

Wow, paying his rent from Etsy alone? I want to sell on etsy ( i have set up an account but not posted anything) but I know my things will cost more than what most of the clothing is selling on etsy. I'm not charging thousands or even several hundred dollars and I look at people's clothing and check their selling history and see what's being sold and what's not, it seems like their much lower priced items are the only ones selling. Here's my concern, I want to make high quality garments (I'm not passing judgement on the quality of other sellers because I don't know) and the materials I use are going to be more expensive to begin with. I like using silks, silk blends, wools, things of that nature and the fabric store is going to charge me more (I live in NYC so that should give you an idea) and based on a rough estimate of cost and labor, it doesn't seem I'll make a reasonable profit based on the work I put into it.

have you ever thought of trying to sell your garments at boutiques? I think for what you are doing, you would probably find a much bigger market in boutiques. And in NYC, there are lots to choose from! Try putting a professional portfolio together and showing it to some store owners and see what happens!

Back when I was making jewelry (mainly necklaces, also some small dressier type bags) I definitely avoided online selling. Just a personal choice, not something I wanted to bother with. Mostly sorta stuck with the consignment route in smaller/locally owned boutique-y kinds of shops. And belieeeeve me that wasn't the easiest route --- we don't live in NYC or any place even remotely-vaguely-anything like it. Nope this is definitely "The Rural Wilds."

It was merely what I preferred to do, and this is one reason why: I wanted to make fairly expensive 'and' guaranteed-'one of a kind' items. No assembly line type stuff -- that would bore me to tears -- & definitely no custom work either (having heard from others how nutso it can be to try to please individual customers with what they want... or 'think' they want... I knew for sure that would make me totally postal...lol).

In other words, I suppose like many artist-types I made only *what* I-personally wanted to make and *how* I-personally wanted to make it... and if stuff didn't sell, so be it. (tho it did, & pretty well, too -- one reason perhaps being what I termed the snob appeal of one-of-a-kind items -- not meaning to be weird about it, I just never really knew what else to call that).

Anyway, in that category (as well as possibly custom work, wouldn't know about that myself tho), it may be a little easier to sneak ones own labor charges into a price. Nothing outrageous -- I mean, I don't think you'll necessarily get 50 bucks an hour... tho in NYC you juuust possibly might! -- but oh say 'at least' minimum wage, lol.

[[ooops edited to add this: that was really just a hobby for me, or maybe more like a 'therapy' I guess. Wasn't trying or needing to make a living or pay the mortgage or anything]]

I'm currently working on my collection and I'm planning to approach Girlshop.com since they're pretty much based in NYC, but I was intrigued about etsy and the whole formula because I think it's pretty cool. But I do believe many people sell themselves short for the great work I see on that site.

yep.i actually have a savings account for the first time since high school.and it's helped me by giving me extra spending money so i can pay down credit card debt i had, which meant my credit rating went up (well, that and being vigilant and paying things on time, etc).(i'm a professional, in my mid-twenties, who has worked an office job in my field full-time for over three years, by the way, but a savings account with a growing balance was a feat i had not conquered til etsy). if you wanted to extend this, it was my little bit of newfound savings, good credit rating + money i had forgotten about from when i was little (yippee to aunts+uncles who gave savings bonds as seemingly lame birthday presents when i was five!) that allowed me to buy my first house this month...

so, in short, yes, you CAN make money on etsy. if you're wise about it. and work hard at it. and do your homework.

yep.i actually have a savings account for the first time since high school.and it's helped me by giving me extra spending money so i can pay down credit card debt i had, which meant my credit rating went up (well, that and being vigilant and paying things on time, etc).(i'm a professional, in my mid-twenties, who has worked an office job in my field full-time for over three years, by the way, but a savings account with a growing balance was a feat i had not conquered til etsy). if you wanted to extend this, it was my little bit of newfound savings, good credit rating + money i had forgotten about from when i was little (yippee to aunts+uncles who gave savings bonds as seemingly lame birthday presents when i was five!) that allowed me to buy my first house this month...

so, in short, yes, you CAN make money on etsy. if you're wise about it. and work hard at it. and do your homework.

hi, i'm not selling just yet but there's a consignment shop near me that i was thinking of using instead of etsy/online...i make mostly purses/tote bags and i'm also surprised how a) low-priced they are on etsy and b) how many there are of them! i think physical stores would be a better bet for me since i'm in ohio and i don't see purses like mine around here. i was in this shop recently and they had some bags that, while cute, weren't made that well (really floppy, no closures, etc.) and they were $45! so even if i only get 60% of a $50 sale, that's still $30...much more than my supplies. and the owners were estatic when i said i make bags b/c not many people are around here. but i'm not really thinking to build a business, i just want to sell a few things on the side for extra money. sometimes i also wonder if prices on etsy are artificially low b/c the customers are other crafters who would just make the item themselves instead of shell out $60 for a bag?? i mean, are non-crafting people on these sites regularly? seems like you could command a higher price in a store where customers are like, "sure i'll pay $60 b/c i have no idea how easy it would be to make that myself!" ha! but then again the fees are lower so they may wind up with almost as much as a $50 consignment...but i don't know, like i said i haven't sold a thing yet......